Record total for Barristers’ Chambers
The claimant personal injury department at Exchange Chambers has secured over £50m for clients with life-changing injuries during November, the team’s best ever performance and highest monthly total.
Settlements during November have included £14m for a 26-year old tetraplegic with traumatic brain injury (Will Waldron QC and Mark Mulrooney), £13.25m for a 21-year old with severe spinal injury (Bill Braithwaite QC and Chris Barnes) and £11m for a 24-year old with severe brain injury (Gerard Martin QC).
There have also been numerous awards of between £1m and £5m.
Head of Chambers Bill Braithwaite QC, based in Liverpool and Manchester, said: “November has been the best month in our history for high value, personal injury settlements.
“Our silks and juniors have settled complex claims across the whole of England and Wales.”
In September, 2017, the Lord Chancellor set out long-awaited proposals for calculating the ‘discount rate’ applied to personal injury settlements.
The current rate of minus 0.75% was set by former Lord Chancellor Liz Truss in February. The latest statement says that, if the new system were to be applied today, the rate might be ‘in the region of 0% to 1%’.
Braithwaite added: “Although the Government has backtracked on February’s discount rate reduction, for now the rate remains at minus 0.75% and we are settling claims accordingly. During November, two of our silks have achieved their highest ever settlements for clients with serious, life changing injuries.
“Let’s be clear – for many years, claimants who have suffered significant or catastrophic injuries have been under-compensated. While the discount rate remains at minus 0.75% there is a window of opportunity, albeit a small one, to redress the balance.”
